Junagarh Fort

[junagarhfort]

Camel Festival-Bikaner

The life in the villages around Bikaner vibrates to the sound of music and shakes in a rich abundance of colours. Strong men with moustaches in colorful turbans, cheerful women in multitute and kids live life to the hilt in camel festival. After the harsh summer, there is dancing, singing and other community festivities which transform the hard working people of Thar desert into fun entertaining and carefree individuals.

Camel Fair, Bikaner is a sought after event in Rajasthan. Organized by the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture, Bikaner Camel Festival is a yearly event in January that Bikaner celebrates in honor of the ship of the desert, Camel.

Celebration Of Fair-

The festival is organized every year in the month of January or late December to spotlight the value of ship of the desert – “Camel”. The two day festival is marked by different captivating activities.

The festivities starts off with a colorful parade of beautifully decorated camels against the backdrop of great Junagarh Fort. Relish the spectacular displays of camels dressed in vigorous bridles, traditional necklace and heavy anklets showing off wonderful footwork to the lovely tunes on desert sands. Also viewer the array of camel race events, camel games and other cultural performances. Hundreds and thousands of tourists and locals feast in this traditional festival. Feel absolute pleasure in the lovely atmosphere.

The festivity advances to the open sand-spreads of the Polo Grounds, followed by camel races, camel milking, fur cutting design, the best breed competition, camel acrobatics, camel bands and so on. A sight of unusual camel activities like camel races, camel dances, and the bumpy, neck shaking camel rides highly fascinates the viewers. The camels display amazing footwork, dancing gracefully to the slightest direction of their riders. Their displays and competitions accompany the color, music and rhythm unique to a fair in Rajasthan.

There is no better animal to traverse the desert than the noble camel. But getting on and riding a camel, especially if you’re a novice, is anything but noble. While you will, without a doubt, be uncomfortable at first, riding a camel is not a difficult skill to pick up.

[junagarhfort]

Junagarh Bikaner Fort and the Bazaar!

Bikaner has everything a traveler would love doing. It has a huge Junagarh Fort Bikaner which speaks loudly of its rich culture and heritage, beautiful gardens, and magnificent museum. One unique thing that you would definitely get entice is the bazaar of Bikaner. So here are some of the things that you must go for once you visit Bikaner.

1. Junagarh Fort

Junagarh is itself a very beautiful fort and one of the few forts that are not built on a hilltop. But other than Junagarh Fort there is so much to see one can vouch for. Within the vicinity of the fort, there are seven other places to entertain you. There are Palaces like Phool Mahal, Anup Mahal, Bikaneri Havelies, Ganga Mahal, Badal Mahal, and Chandra Mahal.

2. The Museum

The Junagarh Fort Museum is within the fort. It was established in 1961 by Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji. You can take a look at the historic paintings and the artwork in the museum. If you are fond of medieval periods and take interest in the warfare of medieval times you will find the armories section very intriguing.

3. Bikaneri Bhujiya

We all love this snack with cutting chai. You will find the original bhujia which will make you crave for it as soon as you hear of it. So do try them once in Bikaner!

4. Camel leather goods

Since Bikaner is in a desert area, you will find camels all around. Therefore the leather goods are very much prevalent in this area. People usually take some goods as a souvenir of their journey. It is one of the specialties of the Bikaner desert!

5. Embroidered quilt

Bikaner is a center for embroidered quilt trade and manufacturing. The quilt is adorned with delicate needlework along with detailed designs. It is one of the most sought after things of Bikaner.

6. Paintings

You will find enticing paintings that will speak about the ancient sagas and stories. The paintings are mainly from the Marwar School of Arts. The use of bright colors is the specialty of these paintings.

So before visiting Bikaner do make your list of things to do in Bikaner. Also, keep  Junagarh Fort Bikaner at the top as the fort is a visual delight for everyone!

[junagarhfort]

Bikaner: Thar Desert, Palaces and Camel!

Bikaner is often underestimated and not received attention as those of its contemporaries but this city is a land of majestic forts and palaces. Bikaner was founded by Rao Bika in 1488 CE. The city is 330 kilometres in the northwest of the state capital, Jaipur.

There are many interesting places to visit in Bikaner. You will get to see beautiful Bikaner fort, popular temples, wildlife sanctuary and many more! This blog will take you on a trip to Bikaner and will give insight into this majestic city. The first of them being is the magnificent fort The Junagarh Fort. So Junagarh Fort is located amidst the Thar Desert and was built by Raja Rai Singh in 1594.Originally it was called Chintamani. This Bikaner fort is rightly called the unconquered fort. The fort withstood several attacks from various invaders. But no one could ever capture it. The fort witnesses many wars and now stands tall and proud for its royal heritage and victories.  Rao Bikaji's Fort also known as ‘Bikaji Ki Tekri’ was built in 1478.This Bikaner fort is right now in ruins. Laxmi Niwas Palace is another palace which is a former residential palace. The ruler of the former state of Bikaner Maharaja Ganga Singh built this. You can imagine the rich heritage of the maharaja that the palace was designed by none other than the famous British architect Samuel Swinton Jacob in 1902.

There are also some of the famous temples in Bikaner called Karni Mata Temple. 30 km from Bikaner, Karni Mata Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at Deshnoke. It is also known as the Temple of Rats.The temple is famous for the twenty five thousand black rats called kabbas that live and are revered in the temple. People flock to the temple to have blessings. Mukam Bishnoi Temple is a holy place of twenty nine rules of followers of Bishnois. Bishnois are well known for their devotion to nature. They worship nature and put their heart and soul in its protection. The soul of guru Jambeshwar lies in Mukam Temple.

Laxminath Temple was built by Maharaja Rao Lunkaran. It is four kilometres away from the famous Junagarh Fort and one of the oldest temples in Bikaner. The temple is devoted to the Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi. The doorway of the temple is known for its silver work. Bhandasar Jain Temple is a prominent Jain Temple known for its beautiful leaf paintings and ornamented mirror work. It was constructed by Bhandasa Oswal in the 15th century. This temple I adorned with beautiful paintings. The temple has mahamandapa, ardhamandapa, garbhagriha, and antarala. In the Bikaner semi-arid area you will find various wild animals. You will get to see birds, animals, mammals and reptiles. You can spot many types of vultures here Egyptian and King Vultures being the popular local variety and Eurasian Griffon being the migratory vultures.

Bikaner is the true essence of Rajasthani culture. Anyone who wants to feel Rajasthan in its true spirit must visit this place. You will find many luxury hotels in Bikaner around various famous places. Also you will get to see desert, the palace, the rich traditional dance, the food all just at one place!